Repsol Honda Team get first taste of Mandalika as Espargaro sets the pace

Repsol Honda Team get first taste of Mandalika as Espargaro sets the pace. Pol Espargaro led the first day of MotoGP testing in Indonesia, utilizing all the available track time across a day of stops and starts as team-mate Marc Marquez enjoyed the first special feeling with the new Honda.
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Repsol Honda Team get first taste of Mandalika as Espargaro sets the pace

Testing Report

Friday, Feb 11th 2022

Mandalika Test

MotoGP 2022

Repsol Honda Team get first taste of Mandalika as Espargaro sets the pace

Pol Espargaro led the first day of MotoGP testing in Indonesia, utilizing all the available track time across a day of stops and starts as team-mate Marc Marquez enjoyed the first special feeling with the new Honda.

It was a wet introduction to the newest circuit on the MotoGP World Championship calendar, heavy overnight rain and continued morning showers leaving the 4.3kilometer-long tack wet for the opening salvo of laps. Both Repsol Honda Team riders were some of the first out on track, completing a handful of laps before the red flag came out. This was to allow the Mandalika circuit to be cleaned and a revised schedule was announced as the track went green just after midday local time.

Stable conditions allowed for plenty of laps in the afternoon, the entire MotoGP grid working to put rubber down and improve on-track conditions. Pol Espargaro took a measured approach to the opening day in Indonesia, building his speed over a number of laps as the weather and circuit condition evolved. As the closing hours approached, Espargaro’s effort were rewarded as he climbed up the time sheets, first inside the top three. On his penultimate lap with just over half an hour of testing remaining, the #44 set a 1’32.466 to lead the first ever MotoGP session at Mandalika.

Marc Marquez spent much of the early afternoon in and around the top three as riders began to assess the new circuit at full speed with a dry track. Mixed weather in the closing hour of testing saw Marquez and his team wrap up ahead of schedule after completing 64 laps during the course of the day. 17th on the time sheet, Marquez was not worried by his position as he focused on cleaning the track with a high volume of laps and improving his overall feeling with the new Honda RC213V.

Overnight weather is once again looking mixed as the paddock hope the rain stays away so they can pick up on Saturday where they left off today. Just two days of testing now remain before the start of the 2022 MotoGP World Championship.

Pol Espargaro ⁴⁴

1st 1’32.466

“It was a bit of a tricky start to the day in the morning, the track was dirty but the track improved as we continued to ride on it and cleaned the track. As the day went on, we could ride in a better way and start to learn more about the track and also our bike, which is still quite new. Finally, I did a good lap and overall my rhythm was good, but it’s just the first day and tomorrow everyone will go a bit faster. The bike keeps improving and we are just at the start of our journey but it’s promising. Now it’s time to rest tonight and get back to work tomorrow.”

Marc Marquez ⁹³

17th 1’33.776

“A normal day at a new circuit; it started dirty and it improved as the day went on. I didn’t find it difficult to find the good lines because it was easy to see where the black rubber was. I like the first and the fourth sector and it’s an interesting circuit, it will be nice to race at. We did a lot of laps today because this was the only way to clean the track and it helped. Already the line is improving and I think tomorrow it will improve more so we can be more consistent. I started to feel something special with the bike today, let’s see what tomorrow brings.”

Mandalika Test

Pos.	Rider	Num	Nation	Team	Constructor	Time/Gap
1	Espargaro Pol	44	SPA	Repsol Honda Team	Honda	1'32.466
2	Espargaro Aleix	41	SPA	Aprilia Racing	Aprilia	0.471
3	Binder Brad	33	RSA	Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	KTM	0.477
4	Rins Alex	42	SPA	Team Suzuki Ecstar	Suzuki	0.592
5	Quartararo Fabio	20	FRA	Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP	Yamaha	0.642
6	Miller Jack	43	AUS	Ducati Lenovo Team	Ducati	0.648
7	Vinales Maverick	12	SPA	Aprilia Racing	Aprilia	0.681
8	Mir Joan	36	SPA	Team Suzuki Ecstar	Suzuki	0.778
9	Dovizioso Andrea	4	ITA	WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team	Yamaha	0.779
10	Martin Jorge	89	SPA	Pramac Racing	Ducati	0.892
11	Nakagami Takaaki	30	JPN	LCR Honda	Honda	0.928
12	Morbidelli Franco	21	ITA	Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP	Yamaha	1.052
13	Zarco Johann	5	FRA	Pramac Racing	Ducati	1.126
14	Di Giannantonio Fabio	49	ITA	Team Gresini Racing MotoGP	Ducati	1.217
15	Marquez Alex	73	SPA	LCR Honda	Honda	1.234
16	Oliveira Miguel	88	POR	Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	KTM	1.282
17	Marquez Marc	93	SPA	Repsol Honda Team	Honda	1.310
18	Bastianini Enea	23	ITA	Team Gresini Racing MotoGP	Ducati	1.488
19	Fernandez Raul	25	SPA	Tech 3 KTM Factory Racing	KTM	1.500
20	Marini Luca	10	ITA	Mooney VR46 Racing Team	Ducati	1.699
21	Bezzecchi Marco	73	ITA	Mooney VR46 Racing Team	Ducati	1.707
22	Bagnaia Francesco	62	ITA	Ducati Lenovo Team	Ducati	1.852
23	Binder Darryn	40	RSA	WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team	Yamaha	2.029
24	Gardner Remy	87	AUS	Tech 3 KTM Factory Racing	KTM	2.137

Location Information

Mandalika International Street Circuit (known as Pertamina Mandalika International Street Circuit) is located in the Mandalika resort area on the Central Lombok Regency in West Nusa Tenggara province of Indonesia. The circuit is a venue for Asia Talent Cup, Superbike World Championship and Grand Prix motorcycle racing races.

Length	4.3 km
Width	15m
Left Corners	6
Right Corners	11
Longest Straight	507 m
Constructed	2021

Circuit Records

Pole Position	New Circuit
Race Lap	New Circuit
Race Time	New Circuit
2022 Winner	New Circuit

Mark McGhee (609)

I was born a century too late, or maybe too early.
I like to ride motorcycles and write about that.